Where We Fall + #Giveaway

"I never thought I would marry the love of my best friend's life."(53)

Title: Where We Fall

Author: Rochelle B. WeinsteinPublisher: Lake Union Publishing

Release Date: April 19, 2016

Genre: Literary Fiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

On
the surface, Abby Holden has it all. She is the mother of a beautiful
daughter and the wife of Ryan, a beloved high school football coach. Yet,
depression has a vice grip on Abby and every day tugs a little harder on the
loose threads of her marriage, threatening to unravel her charmed life.
Meanwhile, Ryan is a charismatic, loyal husband who can coach the local high
school football team to victory, but is powerless to lift his wife’s
depression, which has settled into their marriage like a deep fog. Although
this isn’t the life he’s dreamed of, Ryan is determined to heal the rifts in
his family. Lauren Sheppard was once Ryan’s girlfriend and Abby’s closest
friend. Now a globe-trotting photographer who documents the power and beauty of
waterfalls around the world, she returns back home to the mountains of
North Carolina, where she must face the scene of a devastating heartbreak that
forever changed the course of her life.

As
college coeds, Abby, Ryan, and Lauren had an unbreakable bond. Now, for the
first time in seventeen years, the once-inseparable friends find themselves
confronting their past loves, hurts, and the rapid rush of a current that still
pulls them together. With hypnotic, swift storytelling, Weinstein weaves in and
out of Abby, Ryan, and Lauren’s lives and imparts lessons of love, loyalty,
friendship, and living with mental illness.

Ripe
with emotional insight, WHERE WE FALL explores the depths of the
human mind and a heart that sees what the eyes cannot. As Abby, Ryan, and
Lauren struggle to repair their relationships and resolve their inner demons,
they unflinchingly hold the mirror to the reader, reminding us not only of our
own flaws, but also how beautiful and human those imperfections can be.

MY THOUGHTS

Young love, mistakes, miscommunication and guilt thread Where We Fall by Rochelle B. Weinstein together like a fine piece of tapestry. Something is wrong, and instead of getting to the root of the problem, our characters just don't know what to do. Pretending like it never happened may be a temporary solution, at least for 16 years, but when something eats at you, it leaves a mark. Sometimes a mark only you can see.

The words in Where We Fall were beautifully written, in a literary sense. Even though at times, it can be superfluous when you want to get there in between all the excessive words, you understand that's what's going on in Abby's mind. As depression takes hold of her, she needed to tell it to stop. She needed to find out why.

"My beating heart once told me I was crippled when its rapid speed paralyzed my arms and legs. So I tell my heart she is okay. She is just scared. I comfort her. My soul screams at me: 'You are evil and bad...and no one will ever love you." So I whisper to her: 'You are human. You make mistakes. You'll get through this.'" (226)

Rochelle Weinstein is able to write about the complexity of mental illness with such a delicate hand that your heart filled with compassion for the family as a whole. Individually, each character may not be your favorite, but when you see how one member's depression can affect the family in different ways, you'll empathize with them. Gripping with fierce emotions, you will find it is the realistic aspect of humanity within a broken family that makes Where We Fall a novel that you will love to hate, and hate to love. Either way, it deserves to be read.

"He was waiting for you with a heavy heart. I was waiting for you to cut through mine." (188)

For my readers who prefer a clean read, please be advise that there are some minor profanity and sex scene in this novel.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book through TLC Book Tours for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. For my review policy, please see my Disclosure page.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born
and raised in Miami, Florida, Rochelle B. Weinstein followed her love of the
written word across the country. She moved north to attend the University of
Maryland, earning a degree in journalism, and began her career in Los Angeles
at the LA Weekly. After moving back to Miami, she enjoyed a stint in the
entertainment industry, marrying her love of music with all things creative.
When her twins arrived, she sat down one afternoon while they were napping and
began to write. The resulting novel, the highly acclaimed What We Leave
Behind, explores the poignancy of love and the human condition. Her second
book, The Mourning After, is a moving story of hope and resiliency.